MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Colleges and universities in West Virginia have allocated millions of dollars in recent days to students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The schools received the money through the federal CARES Act.
West Virginia University posted an application for students on April 21 with a deadline of May 8. WVU Associate Vice President for Student Financial Support Sandra Bennett said 8,003 students were awarded $6.7 million.
“We awarded students who were eligible for the Pell Grant, those are the most needy students, we awarded them $1,000 and for those students who are not Pell eligible but have needs as well we awarded them $750,” Bennett said.
Students had to be eligible for Title IV aid to receive a grant. They had to have a completed FAFSA for the current academic year.
Marshall University spokeswoman Leah Payne said the university has processed 5,291 students for approximately $2.7 million. Payne said they are still working through 450 additional applications.
Concord University announced Tuesday it has distributed $511,500 in relief grant money to 574 students. The deadline to apply for grants at Concord has been extended to May 27. Concord will also give students an opportunity to apply for the grants in the fall.
WVU received more than $10 million for students through the CARES Act. Bennett said they’ll be rolling out a program for summer grants in a few days.
“We’ll have some more CARES Act funding for summer and then, thanks to wonderful donors in our (WVU) Foundation, they have been fundraising for additional allocation that we can award to students in the fall,” Bennett said.
The $1,000 and $750 grant totals were sent by direct deposit to students’ accounts or they were sent a check. Bennett said the federal language is clear, the money is for the students not the university.
“The funding from the CARES Act was to help them with their emergent needs,” Bennett said.
The grants handed out by WVU are separate from reimbursements that occurred in mid-April based on 40 percent of the semester not being completed. Students living in residence halls and with meal cards received the reimbursements. WVU refunded April and May rent payments to those who live in university-operated apartments.
Marshall students were reimbursed for 37.5 percent of spring semester charges including meal plans, room and board plans, parking fees, and Rec Center fees.
Most colleges and universities in the Mountain State have announced plans to be open for students for the fall semester.